Nearing Heaven

Kristina Valaisaite
January 2011

Left: Appreciating Korean culture is an intangible aspect of learning the language: a student learns Korean cooking; Right: That the institute is situated near the Cheon Jeong Peace Palace is one reason our church members are likely to be drawn there.

Welcome to True Parents' Language Institute, located just a few hundred meters below Cheon Jeong Gung! Amazing nature, fresh air, mountains calling you for adventures, and wonderful people -- that was my first impression coming here in March this year. And that impression hasn't changed up to this point; it's the heavenly kingdom on earth.

Looking back over those days, I remember that from the moment of my arrival, I wanted to change my life. I had spiritual difficulties. I needed time to step back and look at everything, to refill my "fuel tank" and find new determination to work for God and True Parents. And I wanted to learn Korean.

Finally, when I found myself in my dorm room surrounded by young, energetic and enthusiastic Japanese second-generation sisters (at twenty-seven, I was the oldest), I thought to myself, my Heavenly Father is truly amazing. He always gives me exactly what I need.

Even though it belongs to the Cheongshim Graduate School of Theology, which is situated nearby, it has its own building. This makes the language institute more or less independent. It has been in existence for less than three years. Nevertheless, I believe it will grow each year, because of its advantages. This past semester there were forty students, among them American, Austrian, French, Mongolian, Russian, and Sudanese.

Each morning before class, we read True Father's autobiography in Korean for Hoon Dok Hae. Then very kind teachers, all blessed members, teach us the "secrets" of True Parents' language for four hours each day.

We study from Sogang University textbooks. We memorize new words and practice reading, writing and speaking Korean. The teacher explains the grammar for each lesson, and we practice the newly learned grammar through reading and dialogue. The teachers usually speaks to us about topics of interest, teaches us Korean songs, and gives us tasks (such as giving a presentation) that require searching for extra material on the internet. From the very beginning, the teachers created an atmosphere in which we were able to relax and be free from the fear of making mistakes. The process is exciting.

We play traditional Korean games and cook Korean food. In the afternoon, we have more than enough time to do the homework and to make new friends.

The main reason I wouldn't change to any other school to learn Korean is that this has become the place for my spiritual rebirth as well. We have an opportunity to go to the Chung Pyung training center every day -- just two or three kilometers away -- for chanyang sessions, something I could previously only dream of doing. Every Tuesday there is a service in the chapel given by one of the graduate school professors, and we have an open invitation to attend Hoon Dok Hae at the Peace Palace with True Parents when they are in Korea.

I wanted us, as students, to do something together in order to learn from each other, share about our lives and the experiences we have had with God and True Parents as first- and second-generation members. That is how Let's Inherit True Love (LITL) came into being. I began it as an after-class student activity to help create a true family atmosphere in our school. Through this program, we have shared stories of our lives of faith, decorated the student lounge, written a joint letter to Dae Mo nim, and gone mountain hiking, among other things. I strongly believe that True Parents' language and the culture of true love they are teaching are inseparable parts of building one family under God. LITL was aimed at overcoming the language barrier through doing something inspiring together.

While organizing, participating, studying and searching, I understood a few things: No place is panacea for our problems. I needed time -- God gave it to me. I needed to grow -- God gave me the chance to do so. I needed love -- God surrounded me with people. I needed to be taken care of -- but for this God gave me hands to take care of others. This was a better source of God's love and true happiness than simply being an object of someone else's care and attention. The True Parents Language Institute is truly a place of opportunities.

One such opportunity came with the Culture Festival we held. I gave an eight-minute speech in Korean about God's gifts for His children. I had written it myself, and I was very inspired to be able to do that after only two semesters of Korean study. It was the best conclusion for a semester imaginable, and I felt a jump in my confidence in speaking Korean.

After the first semester, I already could say some things in Korean. I could find my way around Korea and buy food in the local market. I could finally talk to my Japanese roommate who didn't know a word of English! After the second semester, I could understand people talking to me on the telephone, buy necessary medicines at the pharmacy, watch Korean dramas without subtitles (that doesn't mean I could understand everything!) and listen to Dae Mo Nim's speeches without an interpreter. I am afraid to imagine what will happen after the third semester, which I am waiting for with excitement. But I know one thing -- whatever might happen with me in the future depends only on me and the effort I am ready to invest in my life. God is ready to give as much as I am ready to take.

True Parents' Language Institute web site: tli.cheongshim.ac.kr